1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to the field of throw and catch games involving persons of all ages wherein athletic ability is not a requirement but wherein participation will greatly influence personal development and body musculature.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are numerous games involving the throwing and catching of projectiles, some that are purely sports-oriented and others combining sports orientation with the development of agility and body musculature. Many games require fully developed body musculature and significant skills such as football, basketball and baseball, and are thus open only to the truly athletic and agile person. Others are more general in nature and are open to the athlete and non-athlete alike.
Catch games are attractive to young people because they involve body movement and agility. While young people have the drive to participate for long periods of time in such sports, older people and adults become bored with the repetition of activity. Some games have been developed to involve scores or accumulation of points to rekindle interest and keep such interest from flagging for those who would normally become bored with the repetition. Where scores are involved, the sport becomes one of developing agility, developing bodily musculature and rudimentary practice in addition.
Children's games are often team-oriented. Psychological surveys have demonstrated young people desire group bonding and group activities to meet their social needs because the group's efforts tend to mask the individual shortcomings of the participants. Only after personal athletic skill and substantial bodily musculature is developed comes the desire to act solely in sports such as in tennis, marathon running and other individualized activities.
A significant problem with games of catch has come about with the crowding of persons in neighborhood family developments. The old fashioned neighborhood playground is vanishing from our culture because of land development and crowding due to the increasing American population. School playgrounds are being heavily patrolled and often locked tight after school hours to reduce and/or prevent drug dealing and other crimes from taking place thereon. In addition, the crowding of homes and the rise in real estate costs had caused a reduction in the overall residential lot size so that the size of the traditional backyard is also shrinking.
The typical backyard is now very small and is constantly being filled with shrubbery, flowers, decks and walks as well as barbecue devices as our culture tends to emphasize these features. Accordingly, the child of today is literally running out of room in which to undertake any sports such as a throw and catch game and even then is reduced to playing in a very small backyard or a bedroom.
In the area of catch games utilizing small play areas, the traditional baseball, softball and basketball have given way to a much lighter, less potentially damaging projectile. The "NERF"(Trademark) ball and projectiles like it are lightweight, made of soft foam such that they can be thrown and caught in small areas including the living room or other interior portions of the house while not causing damage to radios, televisions, figurines and other items normally found therein. Specifically, in throw and catch games for small areas, U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,677 shows the use of a round ball of lightweight covered with Velcro (Trademark) for tossing from one person to another to be caught with cuff-like receivers worn on the forearms and the legs. While this is an interesting game, the cuffs, to be wearable, must be sized such that they will be too loose for children if sized for adults and too tight for adults if sized for children. Further, after the ball is thrown, the receiver is required to raise an arm or leg to catch the ball on the Velcro pad or other bonding material attached to the receiver. Such use of forearms and legs invites wild throwing and, in a confined backyard, would tend to invite the projectile to be thrown over the fence into a neighbor's yard, thus prompting neighborhood complaints. In addition, the use of arms and legs brings athleticism back into the picture and will cause the non-athlete to withfraw from further play. Further, since the arm is used as a "shield", one may attempt to catch a ball thrown at one's face with the forearm. If a miss occurs, the projectile may well strike the face or eyes of the receiver causing substantial personal injury. Still further, the game only develops the arms and legs of an individual without developing other portions of the body.